Decision makers

Drop charges against my son Tremaine, who was attacked by police while holding a puppy

Miami-Dade Police officers tackled, choked, and arrested my 14 year old son Tremaine, who was feeding his puppy. And what was his so-called offense? Tremaine looked at the police in a way they didn't like.

On Memorial Day i took my children and their friends to the beach to play with their new puppy. Tremaine was horsing around with a friend when the police rode up on ATVs. My son was holding a newborn puppy in one hand and a bottle in the other. When the police asked Tremaine where I was, he turned in my direction to lead them to me.

That's when an officer cut him off with an ATV and tackled him to the ground, injuring our puppy. A grown man, an officer of the law, choked my 14 year old little boy so hard he urinated on himself because he couldn't breathe. Police later said that Tremaine's "dehumanizing stares" and body posture constituted a threat.

Worst of all, police charged Tremaine with felony resisting arrest by violence when he wasn't doing anything in the first place! My son is no felon -- he is a boy with a puppy who was brutalized by police. He doesn't deserve this.

Maybe Tremaine looked at the officers in a way they didn't like. Maybe he was upset because police were being heavy-handed with no cause. None of that gives Miami-Dade officers any right to manhandle a boy. If a look from a 14 year old boy is enough to threaten Miami-Dade police officers, the department may want to invest in better police officers.

These are serious charges -- this could carry jail time and impact his entire life. If he's charged as an adult he could be labelled as a felon forever, even though my son did nothing wrong on that day.

I thought my family was just going to have a nice day on the beach, but it turned into a nightmare. Please tell State's Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle to drop all charges against my son, and let us get on with our lives.

This petition was delivered to:

State's AttorneyKatherine Fernandez Rundle

Letter to

State's AttorneyKatherine Fernandez Rundle

I am incensed at the actions of Miami Dade police in needlessly escalating a confrontation with 14 year old Tremaine McMillian, and I demand that you immediately drop all charges pending against him.

Miami-Dade police say that they were neutralizing a perceived threat -- but a skinny 14 year old is no threat to two fully grown men. It is wholly unbelievable that this young man's posture and "dehumanizing stares" warranted his being slammed to the ground, choked, and charged with a felony.

This is not justice. That's why I'm calling on you to drop all charges against Tremaine McMillian today.